Maple Pecan Muffins

Maple Pecan Muffins: a decadent pecan filled batter is baked to perfection and then slightly broiled presenting you with a dense, moist, flavorful muffin with a crunchy topping.

Can you believe that it’s been five days since I posted anything on the blog? I think that may be a record. And while I hate going so long without posting, I’ve been extremely busy and I have not had a chance to even edit photos and write a post. Funny fact, though, I actually have at least six recipes that need to be posted. I just have to find the time to edit and write.

So here I sit, typing the beginnings of a post at 7am. I’m multitasking. Or getting distracted. Whatever you want to call it, it could be either or. But I decided to take a moment from my morning routine of getting ready for work to type these words that have come into my mind. And to share with you why I’ve been so darn busy!

So as many of you probably know, I am in the final course of my bachelor degree program. The course is called the Capstone Course. Basically, everyone in the class is split up into groups and given a client to work with. The client that my team was assigned to is a local non-profit housing organization. Their request – find out how they can market themselves to banks for community funding and create a marketing packet for them. For the past few weeks, my team and I have met with this organization, taken a tour of the community they serve, been treated to dinner by the organization and we’ve been doing tons of research to figure out what we need to gather and present to our client. Seriously, I didn’t even get home until almost 8pm on Monday! First it was work, then it was meeting up with the team to work on our presentation and marketing packet.

AND, yesterday I found out that I was accepted into the MBA program at FAU. So now I need to decide if I want to go into debt or not. My job does not offer tuition reimbursement and I cannot pay for two classes per semester on my own. I think the financial benefit in the long run will be worth it. If I decide to do it, I’ll just tell myself that it’s comparable to me purchasing an expensive car. Well, expensive to me. Under 40k but above 30k. Wowza!

So about these muffins. Er about the photo shooting process of these muffins. True story: while I was shooting these muffins, I noticed my little gopher tortoise friend came out for lunch.

Isn’t he/she the cutest thing ever? Maybe not the cutest thing ever but these guys always make me swoon. They are my turtle friends. And I had to run outside and snap a photo. Sadly, I haven’t seen the little guy in a while. I hope he/she is ok.

I also noticed this pretty orange flower growing from one of my plants.

And then I went back inside so I could finish shooting these muffins so I could share them with you today.

In a food processor, grind half of the pecans and half of the flour together. Remove and set aside. Add the remaining pecans and chop into small pieces.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, the pecan/flour mixture, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a welt in the center of this mixture and add the buttermilk, butter, eggs and maple syrup. Mix until combined and lumpy. Fold in the chopped pecans.

Pour into lined muffin cups.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. At the end of baking, turn your broiler on high and broil or about 1 minute or until the tops of the muffins are slightly golden. This will give your muffins a nice crunchy topping.

Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Notes

adapted from the Williams Sonoma Baking Book. I basically followed the recipe exactly.

Congratulations on almost being done school and being excepted into FAU!!! I don’t know how you do it all! These are just the kind of muffins that I want to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea, love the flavors!

You have a lot going on right now! Congrats on nearly being finished with your bachelor’s degree and then on top of that to be accepted to an MBA program. Fantastic! Thanks for finding time to bake and share these muffins with all of us!

Your flower that you show is called a Tropicana! I have a cluster of them in a whiskey barrel here at my house. I absolutely love them. They’re pretty hardy as well – they’ll grow about 6′ in height and the flowers are gorgeous.

In the fall, I cut them back to about 4″ in height, (I live in the northwest where it’s not extreme cold usually) and leave them, however, they can be dug up and stored in a cool dry frost free area if necessary over winter.

They grow really really fast and are so fun to watch – you can see a difference from one day to the next sometimes.

Just thought that some of the people that viewed these might like to know a little more about them. Most flower places will have the plants, at least they do in this area. (I got mine at Lowe’s).

I love the flavors in these muffins, Julie, and they look amazing as always! Congratulations the acceptance into the MBA program and being almost at the end of your Bachelor’s! It will all be worth it! Thanks for sharing this recipe in the midst of all you’ve got going on – pinning!